December 2009
Beloved Friends and Family,
We've just returned from our South America staff retreat in Peru. It was amazing. The sleepy beach town of Huanchaco welcomed 38 of us and our 9 children and provided a great setting in which to retreat. As we studied the Scriptures together, we kept in mind the context of the Latin American countries in which we serve. Those times of study were enriched by shared meals and shared experiences of service. Thank you for praying.
On our last evening, the community presented Walter and me with a gorgeous yearbook chronicling our past 10 years with WMF. As I looked around the room at all the amazing people, I saw reflected in them God's heart, which cares so deeply for the poor. I thought to myself how much I love my life and could not imagine where I'd be if I hadn't made that crazy move to South America 10 years ago.
Walter and I were young, adventurous and had been changed radically by Jesus. We didn't have much, but we always had what we needed. Throughout the years, we've grown and maybe matured a little 😉 And our calling to serve Jesus among the poor has grown deep. At the same time, we are no longer just the young married couple that picked up and left behind all that was familiar. We are also now the parents of two incredible little girls, one of which will begin first grade next year. Cora has thrived in our neighborhood preschool. Her report cards are always excellent and her Spanish vocabulary rivals my own. For the past three years she has had a great outlet for her social and creative energies. Amani will shortly follow suit, with quite possibly more "energy"!
While we would love to keep Cora at this school nearby, we regret that it does not have an English program. It's very important to us that Cora receive a good bilingual education. We want her to have the opportunity to also be challenged and grow in her English language skills, which for us means private school. After much research, we've enrolled her in a good bilingual school for next March, when the Argentine school year begins.
Private school also means an increase in our budget needs. Cora's preschool has been costing us approximately $24.00 a month. Her tuition next year will be $250.00 a month. It's a significant increase and our current support account cannot absorb this increase over time. We are so grateful to those of you who have been giving so faithfully through the years. What we are now praying and asking for are new partners to commit to supporting our family monthly. We would essentially need 25 people to commit to $10.00 a month or 13 people to commit to $20.00 a month or 6 people… You get the drift. Having new monthly partners would help keep our support balance healthy month to month. We also appreciate one-time gifts that help keep our support base strong during seasons of travel.
If you feel led to give it is my prayer that this will bring us closer to one another. Each act of giving we've been the recipient of has challenged Walter and me to remember that our security is certainly not in money but in the faithfulness of God through partners like you. We also strongly believe that fund-raising is also community building. We LITTERALLY could not do what we do, if it was not for YOU, your giving, your prayers and continual encouragement. We could not do it.
Word Made Flesh provides an automatic monthly deduction option, as well as encloses an envelope for giving. There are more details at this address: www.wordmadeflesh.com/support/give-cashgifts.html. If you are not able to give financially at this time, we would still love to partner with you. Our field's prayer requests are now posted monthly on the WMF website www.wordmadeflesh.com/countries/prayer_requests.php?country=Argentina. I invite you to join with us in bringing the needs of our community and the youth before God.
Thank you for continuing to allow us to share our lives with you all these years.
With love and peace in this Christmas season,
Adriana